A Power Within
by Celestial Lady
Summary: Squall's daughter learns she has a special, legendary power as she and her friends face an ancient evil. However, can she learn to believe in herself and her comrades, or will this truly be the FINAL fantasy?Please read and review!
1. Default Chapter

I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters or ideas

I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters or ideas. However, if you would like to use any of MY characters, please ask permission first. This is my first fanfic so please read and review. I decided to resubmit this fic and change the name since the other one sounded to vague. Hope ya like it. I made a few changes too.

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A Power Within

NEW CHARACTERS

Kylee Leonhart

Age: 17

She is the daughter of Squall and Rinoa.

She has a totally different personality than

her father. She is playful and sincere and 

always seems to get into trouble. Even 

though she is completely different, she is 

really close to Squall.

Andrew Almasy

Age: 17

The son of Seifer and Quistis.

Sullen and quiet he enrolls in

Garden to appease his fathers 

Wishes.

Theresa (Tess) Kinneas

Age: 16

Daughter of Irvine and Selphie

She is best friends with Kylee and

together the two always seem to be

in hot water at Garden

Chad Dincht

Age: 15

Son of Zell and his "library girlfriend"

Lively and rambunctious, he seems to

be a carbon copy of his father

Chapter 1

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A New Beginning

It has been 20 years since the defeat of Ultimecia. Balamb Garden is still bustling with activity as SeeDs are dispatched to more places all over the world than ever.

Kylee Leonhart jogged down the hall toward her father's office. As headmaster of Balamb Garden, he was constantly bogged down with paper work, which she knew he hated. She brushed a strand of her waist-length, chocolate colored hair out of her face. She knocked on the door and peeked in. He looked up from his work as she walked in and shut the door behind her. Kylee had a mischievous grin on her face and tried to conceal a snicker.

Squall narrowed his eyes, and asked, "What are you up to, Kylee?"

"Who me?" she innocently replied.

"Yes you, I know that look on your face and it means you're up to something. Go on, confess. What have you done?" 

She shrugged and ran out the door as he called after her. Kylee was notorious for practical jokes. It was like she couldn't help herself.

Squall sighed. 'She certainly didn't get her personality from me,' he thought as he stood up. 'I'd better see what this is about.'

He walked down the hall and caught sight of Kylee talking to her best friend, Tess. 'Partners in crime.' He thought.

"Hey, Dad. What's up?" Kylee chirped when she saw Squall. 

"I've got 75 new recruits and their parents to welcome on the Quad in 20 minutes, that's what's up. Since your mother's still Galbadia, I need your help to keep things under control. So make it snappy."

Kylee groaned, but she really didn't mind, she liked meeting new people, and the newcomers where always so clueless it was funny. 

"See ya later, Tess," she told the red headed girl standing next to her.

"Later, Ky. Don't forget to come up to my room tonight to help me study for that written test!"

As they approached the Quad, Kylee could hear the hum of the crowd and wondered if she would see any one she knew from the town of Balamb. As she peered into the crowd she caught a glimpse of someone familiar. She felt like she had seen him before but couldn't think of his name. He was tall with blondish hair and a scar in-between his eyes and standing next to a shorter woman who Kylee felt she knew, but had drawn a blank on her name. Suddenly, someone gave her ponytail a tug and she whirled around to see Zell Dincht. 

"Hey kid! Where's your dad?" He asked.

"Oh, he's somewhere around. Do you honestly think I can keep up with him?" she joked.

"Well, when you see him, tell him that you grandfather has some urgent news for him from Esthar."

"Really? What is it? And anyway, what brings you here, Mr. Z," Kylee asked.

"Chad's supposed to enroll in Garden, you know, carry on the tradition." 

Kylee scanned the crowd searching for her father, "Cool, I'll go find dad."

Kylee ran up to Squall as he was starting his welcome speech. She knew better than to interrupt, so she stood a few feet back behind him and waited for him to finish. While he talked, she thought about what her grandfather Laguna would have to tell him that was so important. She hoped nothing was seriously wrong. The world had been relatively peaceful the past few years so she hoped nothing would shake it up.

That's the end of Chapter 1. Chapter 2 is up. Chapter 2 will be more exciting, I promise! Please be a responsible reader and R&R. I want to know what you think ^_^ 

-Celestial Lady


	2. A New Evil

A New Generation

I do not own Final Fantasy, it **sigh** belongs to Squaresoft. However, I do own the new characters.

****

A Power Within

Chapter 2

A New Evil

Later that night, as Kylee left Tess's room, she wondered what her grandfather's news had been. Her father had refused to tell her, and simply said, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

That worried her. When parents said not to worry, that's usually because they're worried about something. 

She thought about this as she took the elevator up to their apartment. She was glad her mother would be back from Deling City in a few days. She slowly walked into her room, saying good night to her dad as she closed the door behind her. She was so tired, that she collapsed on her bed and was fast asleep. 

However, she didn't have the nice, restful sleep she was hoping to have. As she lay there asleep, she had a dream, a terrifying one. 

As she looked up into the sky, she could see a dark shadow. It seemed to slowly grow, engulfing the world in darkness. An icy cold wind started to blow and she could hear a hideous laugh that seemed to erupt from inside her head. Suddenly, a beam of light shot from the ground and seemed to disappear within the darkness. 

Kylee woke with a start and looked around her room. A stream of sunlight shined in, indicating that it was morning. She took a deep breath and sighed, but realized she couldn't seem to shake the effects of her dream. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so frightened by a dream.

Later that morning, she walked in the cafeteria and walked over to the table were Tess was sitting. 

"Morning, Kylee! Thanks for helping me study last night! I sure wouldn't want Instructor Trepe to get mad at me again…hey…what's wrong with you?" Tess asked.

Kylee didn't answer. Instead, she just seemed to stare into space, in her own little world. 

"Hello…Earth to Kylee! What's wrong with you, anyway?" 

"Sorry, Tess. I've got a lot on my mind. Good luck on your test, though." Kylee meekly smiled. Tess just looked at her in concern. It wasn't like her best friend to be so quiet. Normally, getting her to stop talking was a problem. 

Tess suddenly looked at her watched and jumped up, almost knocking her chair over. 

"Oh my gosh!! I've got to get going or I'll be late _again_. Don't worry Ky. Every thing will be okay. Gotta go! See ya!" Tess exclaimed as she jogged out of the cafeteria. Kylee sighed and sat back in her chair. She knew she was being stupid but she couldn't help but worry. What did it mean? Was it a warning or just a meaningless nightmare? 

Suddenly, she got the strange feeling she was being watched. She looked up and saw a boy with blonde hair staring right at her. Glaring was more like it. He looked vaguely familiar and she wondered where she had seen him before. Then, she remembered. He had been one of the incoming students at the assembly the day before. She couldn't seem to remember his name and then it came to her…Andrew Almasy. She narrowed her eyes and got up to leave. For some reason, his stare made her uneasy and she had enough to worry about.

She decided to visit Squall in his office. Maybe he'd have something for her to do to keep her mind off her dream. As she opened the door to the office, she was surprised to see her grandfather standing there talking to her dad. 'When did he get here?' she wondered. Not wanting them to worry about her mood, she pasted a smile on her face and walked in. 

They both looked up when the door opened. Laguna smiled a welcome, but Squall's thoughts seemed elsewhere. 

"What have you been up to lately, Kylee? Haven't gotten into too much trouble I hope," Laguna said. "I can remember the time you swapped Instructor Trepe's reading glasses with a different pair and all day she looked like she was playing the trombone when she read something, or how about the time you filled the drawers of your dad's desk with peanut butter."

Squall rolled his eyes, but Kylee smiled, "Some of my most memorable moments. It was fun, especially the desk thing. Too bad the cafeteria was out of jelly."

At that, even Squall cracked a grin. Laguna chuckled and turned back to Squall, "If you find out anything else, just let me know."

"I will," Squall said as Laguna started to leave. Kylee waved a good-bye and sat down in a chair in front of Squall's desk.

"So, Dad. What's on the agenda for today? Hopefully, nothing too boring," she asked. "What was Grandpa doing here, anything wrong?"

He looked at her and sighed, "I guess you'll find out anyway. Remember, though, this is just between you and me. Laguna says the observatory in Esthar has indicated some strange readings near the Sorceress Memorial. It seems to be some supernatural force but they don't know what. For the past week, there have been several strange incidents. People have disappeared and others' personalities have completely changed. Normally, calm, considerate people have turned selfish and crude. Some people have been found alive but left extremely weak. The force, whatever it is, seems to be on the move. Thing is, no one knows where it will strike next or even, what it is. One thing is for sure: it is extremely evil. The reason I don't want word getting around is I'm afraid people will panic."

"That's really freaky, Dad. Is that why Grandpa came to talk to you?" Kylee wondered. Squall nodded and handed her a piece of paper.

"Look up these names. I need those records and your better with the computer than I am."

"That's because you always call it names. Yeah, I'll look these up and get them to you. No problem." Kylee said as she sat down in front of the computer screen.

Later that afternoon she was sitting on a bench in front of the Library when someone sat down beside her. She looked up and saw Chad Dincht flipping through pages of a book. 

"Hey Chad. First day of classes?" Kylee asked.

"Oh, sorry I didn't see you sitting there, Kylee. Yeah, first day. I guess I didn't get through the day too bad, all things considered."

"Well, good luck. I'm waiting for Tess. We were going to go practice in the training center. I think I see her now, see ya later!"

Chad nodded and continued to flip through the book. Kylee waved Tess over and she and Tess made their way over to the Training Center. The first thing they had to face was a band of three Grats. Tess favored a nunchaku while Kylee had become an expert archer despite her father wanting her to use a gunblade. He finally gave up realizing his daughter was as hardheaded as Rinoa. Tess made contact with the first Grat with her nunchaku. Kylee quickly shot two arrows into the other two Grats and the battle was quickly over. 

Kylee turned and smiled at Tess, "Piece of cake!"

Tess didn't smile back. Instead, she took a menacing step toward Kylee. 

"Say goodbye, Kylee Leonhart. You're in over your head, so now you'll lose it." Tess threatened, only it wasn't Tess's soft voice. The voice coming out of her mouth was raspy and hoarse.

"What?!" Kylee gasped as she dodged Tess's nunchaku. "Tess, what's wrong with you? What are you doing?! This isn't funny."

"While I'll have the last laugh this time!" the voice said. Fear overwhelmed Kylee, as she was worried about Tess. Something wasn't right.

Tess threw a fireball at Kylee, and she barely was able to dodge it and it grazed her shoulder. As she knelt down on one knee, holding her shoulder, her fear was replaced by anger. She stood up and launched at Tess grabbing her by her wrists and pinning her against the wall. Tess dropped the nunchaku in surprise and gasped. 

"Get angry, Kylee. That's very good." The voice cackled.

Kylee felt a power grow from within her. A power and strength that she had never felt before. A white light seemed to engulf them and Tess started to scream. A black smoke poured from her mouth and seemed to evaporate into the air. Tess fell limply to the ground. Kylee dropped to the ground beside her friend as Tess's eyes fluttered open. 

"What happened, Kylee? How did I get here?" Tess, in her normal voice, asked in confusion.

"I have no idea what's going on. But I think we need to get you to the infirmary." Kylee answered trying to stay calm. Panic rose within her. Something was wrong. She had never felt such evil before and what had happened to her? It was all so strange.

After she made sure Tess was safe at the infirmary. She ran past a puzzled nurse and out of the infirmary to her father's office. Out of breath, she flung open the door and stumbled in. Squall stood up in alarm as Kylee collapsed in a chair and on the brink of tears she told him the whole story.

When she finished, his eyes widened and he said, "We need to talk to your mother."

So what do ya think? Please R&R^_^ I hope you're enjoying the story. Chapter 3 will have more of the other characters and I plan to have it done soon. 

-Celestial Lady


	3. A Reluctant Daughter

A New Generation

As I said before, I don't own Final Fantasy, its Squaresoft's masterpiece. However, Kylee, Chad, Andrew, and Tess are MINE.

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A Power Within

Chapter 3

A Reluctant Daughter

The next morning, Kylee was anticipating the return of her mother. She wondered if she would have any idea of what was going on. Since it would be about half an hour before Rinoa arrived, Kylee decided to visit Tess in the infirmary.

She stopped by the front desk and asked if she could see her. The attendant nodded, and Kylee swung open the heavy door to Tess's room. The doctor was standing beside her writing something down on a clipboard.

"How is she?" Kylee asked. She felt partially responsible for what had happened the previous night even if she couldn't help what had happened to her.

The doctor looked up and answered, "She's very weak, but she'll be just fine after a few days of rest."

Kylee breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at her watch. It was almost time for her mother to be here. She left the infirmary and walked down the corridor to the directory. She then saw a sight that filled her with relief. Her mother! She ran up to Rinoa and gave her a hug. 

"I'm so glad you're happy to see me, Kylee. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" She asked.

"Mom, you have no idea," Kylee sighed as they took the elevator up to Squall's office. 

After Kylee finished telling the story _again_, she looked at Rinoa expectedly. 

Rinoa frowned, "Well, my guess is the enemy may be connected to the same thing Laguna was talking about. As for what happened to you, I'm not quite sure. It's impossible for a sorceress to pass on her powers by heredity, so you're not a sorceress and that power sounds completely different from any power a sorceress has been known to have. However, maybe Edea might know something. She studied all kinds of supernatural phenomenon, not just sorceress stuff."

"I hope she has an answer. It's really freaking me out. Since I know I'm not allowed to visit her by myself, Dad, will you _please_ go with me? I know it's not really good timing, but I got to know." Kylee begged. She hated the thought of begging to anybody about anything, but she knew this was extremely important.

"Kylee, I have a lot of work to do here and…" Squall started but was cut off by his daughter.

"SEE! I KNEW YOU'D SAY NO!!" Kylee exclaimed.

Squall looked at her calmly and said, "You didn't let me finish. I was going to say, 'I have a lot of work to do here and I can get it done later. Of course I'll go with you.'"

Kylee's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her father, putting off work?! That was unheard of. Even Rinoa looked at him in a state of shock. 

'Wow,' Kylee thought. 'Maybe something's gotten into him too.' She chuckled.

Later that day, Squall and Kylee were waiting for Edea's advice after she heard the story. 

"I agree with Rinoa about her theory. It's possible that this could be a hidden power that Kylee has. It's a legendary power that is passed down from generation to generation but lays dormant in most generations. It will only appear when it is truly needed to defeat the ultimate evil. It appears that Kylee is the chosen one. This maybe the "ultimate evil" that we're dealing with and the only thing that can defeat it is this power. It is also very likely that we haven't seen anything close to the force Kylee can unleash with this power." Edea explained.

Kylee gulped, "Just what exactly is the ultimate evil?"

"Many hundreds of years ago, there was an evil force that tormented the world and brought it into turmoil. Thousands of warriors tried to defeat it but ended up losing their lives for it seemed to be invincible. It was called the Force of Darkness, and its main plan was to shut out all light from the earth and bathe it in darkness and ice. No one could live in a world like that, just the evil force. When it seemed like it would succeed, a brave, young girl appeared. Everyone admired her courage, but were saddened by the fact that she was easy prey for the evil force. Suddenly, when it seemed like all hope was lost, they discovered the one thing that the Force of Darkness could not fight: a truly pure heart, a heart of light. The force was engulfed by the light this girl cast and was banished to another dimension. Legend has it that if the force was ever to break free, the power to defeat it would appear again and justice will prevail." 

Kylee looked down at her feet. She possessed a power that would save the world? How could she do something that big? She suddenly knew how her dad felt many years ago when he was given the mission to defeat Ultimecia. Everyone was counting on her. She blinked back the tears that stung her eyes and threatened to come. She quickly got up and ran out of Edea's house before she could completely lose her composure. Edea started to say something, but Squall looked at her and shook his head.

"Let's leave her by herself for a minute. I know how she feels." He said.

Kylee ran until she could barely see the house in the distance. She stood by a stream that ran through the land and leaned against a tree. How could everyone expect so much of her? 'I don't even know for sure, what I'm supposed to do' she thought. Finally, after holding back most of her emotions, she let the tears come. It felt so good to cry. Her father had always made it difficult for her to let any sadness show, but now he wasn't here and couldn't stop her. For the next fifteen minutes the sobs wracked her body uncontrollably. She cried for the fear she had, for herself and for others. She cried for what had happened to Tess. She cried because her life would no longer be the same, as she once knew it. She cried because she never had the chance to be a normal child or a normal teenager, nor would she be a normal adult. She would die before she told her father that she, Kylee Leonhart, had never wanted to become a SeeD, as she had when she was at the mere age of 15. All she had ever wanted was to be an ordinary girl, but she had never experienced normal school, with extracurricular activities, boyfriends, parties, none of it. Nor would she ever get a chance to experience any of it. She had never even had a birthday party and with her 18th birthday around the corner, she knew it would be the same: miserable. Thinking of all these things, Kylee just cried her heart out. 

Finally, when she felt like she could not cry another tear, she took a ragged breath and sighed. After a few minutes, she got up and walked back to Edea's house. She would never let them see her fear and uncertainty. She had to be strong and brave for herself, her family and the world.

That night, back at Balamb Garden, Kylee sat on the same bench she had been sitting on the day before. However, she was not waiting on Tess, Kylee just wanted to think. While she was deep in thought, a shadow that loomed over her, and snapped her back to attention. Startled, she looked up and saw Andrew Almasy.

"Uh…hi," she said, not knowing really what to say. Why was Andrew out so late at night? She had met him once, long ago, but they had never really gotten along.

"Hey Leonhart. So you were a little rough on your friend yesterday in the training center, huh?" He curtly replied.

Kylee narrowed her eyes, "Shows how little you know, Andrew. Tess and I weren't fighting, we were practicing and anyway, what's it to ya?"

"Just wondering if you were up to a little practice now, since Tess is out of commission. From what everybody says, you're one of the best of the best. Should make this more fun for me too. All these other wimps are way too easy for me."

"I don't quite understand what you're getting at, Almasy." She said.

"Well, how 'bout us having a little duel. Seems like you need to keep in shape, and I've always wanted to fight a SeeD." Andrew said arrogantly.

"Then I guess I'll have to show you how it's done. I have one piece of advice for you: Never get too overconfident. Meet me in the training center in ten minutes." Kylee said, taking up the challenge. She had heard about Andrew from Quistis. He was beginning to look like he'd pass the SeeD test before his other peers. He seemed to be extremely talented with a gunblade. Little did he know, she wasn't so bad herself. Although, it wasn't her weapon of choice, she was, after all, the daughter of Squall Leonhart, one of the few people to have actually mastered a gunblade.

Ten minutes later, she met Andrew in the training center hallway with her gunblade, which had once been her dad's. Andrew couldn't hide the surprise on his face when he saw what weapon she had decided to use. 'Well, more fun for me,' he thought to himself.

Five minutes later, he was eating his words. Kylee was extremely strong and fast. She could dodge and attack at the same time. He was beginning to understand why all the junior classmen looked up to her. 

'Man, she's good,' Andrew thought as he blocked an attack. He brought his gunblade down one more time but it didn't come down too far. She easily blocked it and proceeded with another attack of her own. He barely evaded it and noticed they were both getting tired but neither one of them were going to give up before the other. After a few more minutes, both were breathing hard and had lost most of their strength. She swung one more time. He easily missed it but when he took a step back, his legs gave out and he fell against the wall. Kylee, herself knelt down. She was too tired to boast about her victory. She also knew he was too out of breath to do anything if she did. They glared at each other for a minute or two and then Kylee got up and brushed herself off.

"Maybe next time, Almasy." She growled as she left the training center.

He watched her leave and slowly got up. She was far better than he had expected and was angry with himself for letting her go. He would just have to try again next time. He also would find a way to find out what really had happened the other day in the training center that left the whole garden buzzing with rumors.


	4. The Warning

Here's chapter 4 ****

Here's chapter 4. Things start getting a lot more interesting toward the end. 

-Celestial Lady

A Power Within

Chapter 4

The Warning

About a week later, Tess was well enough to go return to her training. Kylee was so relieved to have her best friend back. It felt like old times as the sat in the cafeteria during lunch, studying and catching up on gossip. 

Kylee wasn't quite sure if she should tell Tess what was going on. She had thought about it for several days and after careful consideration, decided to wait. After all, Tess was still recuperating and Kylee didn't want to give her more to worry about. Kylee was worried enough for everybody but after all her SeeD training, she easily concealed it within her playful, fun-loving exterior.

"Hey, Ky. Check out that guy. He's sooo hot! I've also heard he's one of the best. He passed the field test yesterday," Tess exclaimed pointing across the cafeteria. Kylee followed her friend's gaze until she figured out whom she was referring to: Andrew Almasy.

Kylee rolled her eyes, "Sure, if you like the arrogant, conceited type. He's definitely got a major ego problem. I can't stand him."

"I think he likes you, Kylee. He's always staring at you," Tess replied mischievously.

"Whatever," Kylee said repeating her father's favorite word. "I think you were lying in the infirmary way too long, Kinneas. It must have softened your brain."

Tess just grinned back in response as Kylee playfully swatted at her. Kylee looked down at her watch, "Well, Tess looks like we got go. We have places to go and people to see."

"Where are we going and who are we seeing?" Tess asked.

"It's just a saying. Sorry, you had to miss the field test yesterday; you were doing so well. I know you would have passed." Kylee said. She still felt extremely responsible for Tess's injury.

"That's about the seventh time you apologized. There's always another test. Besides, we still get to go to the SeeD party tonight. What time are you coming to my room to get ready?"

"Around seven. Mom insists I come. She even bought me a new dress and I hate wearing anything formal. I guess I have to be social every once in awhile." Kylee said.

"Well, this time don't get us into trouble by 'making the party more lively' as you put it. Wasn't it last time when you switched the classical music CD with a heavy metal one." Tess mused.

"Guilty as charged! I guess I'll have to abandon the silly string and water balloons this time. You know it would be more fun if we had a 'casual party' every now and then," Kylee laughed.

That afternoon, Kylee wondered if her grandfather might have found out anything more. She opened the door of her dad's office, and poked her head in. 

"Hey, Dad. Are you busy?" she asked.

Squall looked up at her and smiled, "No not really, what do you need?"

"Has Grandpa found out anything new about you-know-what?"

"No, he hasn't. Why, what's wrong?" he frowned.

"Nothing, really. I was just wondering," she reassured him.

"Is your mother making you come tonight?" he asked.

"Of course, do you really think she let me miss it? It's not really my scene but I know it's not yours either. I guess if you can suffer through it, so can I."

"Well, see you tonight then. I have to get all this done before the party," he motioned to a stack of papers.

"Oh, before I forget, who all passed the field test yesterday?" she asked before she left.

"Andrew Almasy, Megan Barnaby, Chad Dincht, Christy Mullins, and Timothy Streeter." He read off the list.

She nodded and left the office. As the clock chimed, she gasped and headed to Tess's room.

Sitting on Tess's bed, she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Wow, I don't even look like me." She mused out loud. She was wearing a forest green dress that tied around her neck, came to mid-thigh and accented her dark tan. Tess was a wizard with the curling iron; however, Kylee's hair was straight as a board and wouldn't hold a curl. It also didn't help that it was extremely thick. She had decided to leave her waistlength, chocolate-colored hair down, something she rarely did. At Tess's insistence, she was wearing make up. She hardly ever wore makeup since she didn't really need to.

"Right, you don't look like a tom-boy. Here I have some shoes that will go with your dress. It's a good thing we wear the same size." Tess said. She was thrilled that she had gotten Kylee to cooperate with her make over. 

"You look great, Tess." Kylee said as she tried on the shoes. "We should be going now, don't you think. Mom will have kittens if I'm five minutes late."

Tess and Kylee walked out onto the ballroom floor as soft melodies of music drifted through the air. Tess ran off to talk to somebody, so Kylee searched the floor for someone to talk to. She located her father in a corner and went over to talk to him.

He looked at her in surprise, "Whoa, is that you Kylee? You clean up well."

She chuckled, "You too, Dad. So where's mom? I showed up and she's not even here to see it."

"She's somewhere around. She seems to know everybody, but if I see her I'll tell her you're here. Go try to enjoy yourself."

"Will do," Kylee replied as she headed over to the refreshment table. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Andrew there. Kylee quickly turned and walked the other way, hoping he hadn't seen her. Unfortunately, he had and came over to talk to her. Seeing she was trapped, she sighed and hoped he wouldn't want to talk long.

"So I guess I'm now a SeeD too," were his first words. She inwardly groaned knowing she would not be able to get away from this conversation as she had hoped. 

"Congratulations, Andrew," she said in exasperation. 

Andrew grew more serious, "Listen, Kylee. I know you hate me and you've always hated me." 

"I don't hate you Andrew; I just don't like you very much." Kylee cut in.

"I know I've been a jerk lately…" Andrew trailed off.

This was not what Kylee was expecting to hear. She looked at him in amazement. 

He continued, "…but I'll try to work on that. Would you care to dance?"

Kylee almost fell over. Andrew Almasy… was asking her to dance? She looked up at the skylights to see if there was a blue moon. All she could see was a star filled sky. Not letting her say 'no' Andrew took her hand and pulled out on to the dance floor. She stood there in amazement, but didn't get to stand there to long. The music began and she knew she would like an idiot if she continued to stand there. They danced softly across the floor. She would have never believed he could dance that well if she hadn't seen it for herself. 

Andrew couldn't believe he was dancing with Kylee Leonhart. He couldn't believe he had asked her. He didn't know what had come over him. Maybe it was because she looked so different without her jeans and sneakers. He smiled to himself. He knew his father would flip out if he knew whom he was dancing with. Kylee seemed to float, light as a feather, as she danced. Andrew's world seemed to be spinning, and it was all he could do to keep from getting lost in her emerald green eyes.

'Wow,' Kylee thought. 'I could swear that this is a completely different person than the one that I beat last weak. He's so gentle and proper.' She was surprised that as strong as he was, he could dance softly to classical music. Tess was right. He really was good looking with his sandy, blonde hair and deep blue eyes. It had always been his attitude that had turned her off. For some reason, she felt as though they were the only two on the dance floor, although it was packed. Suddenly, she realized she was losing control. She stopped and gasped. Andrew snapped out of his trance as she excused her self and fled from the party, leaving her puzzled partner out on the floor alone. 

Kylee ran past her parents and didn't seem to even notice when her dad called her name. She ran up the stairs to the elevator and went to her room. As she shut the door, she looked in the mirror and scowled. She was getting as bad as Tess. What was wrong with her? She changed out of her dress and pulled on a pair of her faded blue jeans. She put on an oversized sweatshirt, and pulled her hair back in a ponytail. She looked in the mirror with relief when she saw that she was starting to look more like herself. After she tied her shoes she decided to go for a walk. It wasn't too late so some places would still be open. Besides everyone was at the party so she could enjoy the peace and quiet. She left a note for her parents, so in case they were to actually come back early, they would know where she was.

The sweet sound of crickets serenading filled the crisp night air as she walked onto the Quad. She stopped and stared at the sky as a shooting star streaked across.

She sighed as she could feel herself relax. 

Suddenly, she could sense something strange. All her senses went on alert as her fears were confirmed. A cold, dark mist gathered around Kylee and seemed to envelop her. 'Great,' Kylee thought, 'and I'm unarmed.'

"Kylee" the wind seemed to whisper her name. The mist started to take shape and formed a creepy looking woman.

Kylee took a step back in disgust.

"Kylee Leonhart, I bring a message from the Lady of Darkness. And this is it!" she said as lightning split the sky and the wind howled. The Lady's minion formed a long chain in her hands with a ring on the end. She threw it at Kylee who tried to dodge it but she wasn't quick enough. The ring locked itself around her neck. Kylee's hands flew up to her throat as she tried to tug at the ring. The evil creature laughed as she jerked on the chain, sending Kylee to the ground. 

"Heel!" she hissed as she started to pull the struggling girl across the ground. "It would be so much easier for you just to submit. The Lady of Darkness would love for you to be on her side."

"As if!" Kylee growled. She wished she hadn't come out alone. Then she remembered there was a way to get out of this. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate. She could feel the power she had felt the night the darkness had first revealed itself to her. The creature gasped in surprise as Kylee started to glow. A halo of light outlined her body as the metal ring around her neck shattered. In confusion, the being stopped and stared. Kylee took the opportunity. She put her hands together, forming a huge ball of energy, which she directed at the black evil. The creature shrieked in outrage and tried to counter attack but it was too late. Kylee had been too strong and it dissipated. Kylee breathed a sigh of relief, but her relief turned into amazement. She didn't know she could be so strong. Then, she realized whoever this Lady of Darkness was; she wouldn't give up so easily. She would try again.

A tall woman with black eyes and long, black hair looked into her power globe. She had seen the battle and growled in disgust. 'Why is it I surround myself with idiots?' She wondered. She would have to send someone more formidable next time, and she knew exactly who it would be. The Lady of Darkness smiled an evil smile and laughed a hideous cackle, which echoed through her dimension. She was tired of her prison and vowed to get revenge on the people who had sent her there. 

****Suggestions? Comments? Let me know. How do you like it so far? Anything I need to change?****-Celestial Lady


End file.
